Victor Valley College Library
Collection Development Policy
I. Introduction
The purpose of this collection development policy is to provide guidelines for the development
and maintenance of library materials including selection, on-going maintenance and challenges
to the library collection. This policy helps to ensure consistency among those who have
responsibility for developing the collection, as well as to communicate the library’s policies to
faculty, students, and other members of the college community. The library encourages all
faculty, staff and students to submit recommendations regarding collection development.
II. Mission of the Library
The Victor Valley College Library's mission is to support the teaching, learning and service
mission of the college. To accomplish its mission the library will be accessible to a diverse
student population and responsive to the needs of the community by providing the highest
quality instruction services, materials, facilities and technology for effective utilization of these
resources.
III. Responsibility for Collection Development
Faculty librarians are responsible for the development and maintenance of the library’s collection.
The library is supervised by the Dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. All faculty are
encouraged to contribute to building the library collection by reviewing current holdings and
recommending materials to support the college’s course offerings. Faculty regularly review the
collection and recommend new library resources as part of the Curriculum Committee
procedures for updating and adding new courses. Every effort will be made to accommodate
faculty requests that are within the scope of the library’s collection development policy.
IV. Library Users
VVC students, faculty and staff are the primary users of the library’s collection. Demographics
(from the Institutional Research Department, Quick Facts Spring 2009) for the student
population are:
Gender: 56% female, 42% male;
Ethnicity: 42% white, 32% Hispanic, 13% African American, other ethnicities are less
than 2%;
Age: 31% are 18-20 years, 22% are 21-25 years, 12% are 26-30 years, 15% are 31-40
years, 9% are 41-50 years;
Units attempted: 43% enroll in 6.0 units or less; 29% enroll in 6-12 units; 28% enroll in
12 or more units.
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As the only academic library in the Victor Valley high desert area, the library is used by a
secondary group including local high school students, other college students, and community
residents who may check out materials by joining the Friends of the Library.
V. Scope
The collection supports the community college undergraduate curriculum for general education,
basic skills, English as a Second Language, and a variety of vocational programs offered by the
college.
VI. General Guidelines for Selections
Materials are selected based on need, suitability, availability and/or cost, according to whether
the material is:
1) ESSENTIAL
Includes the core collection essential for a community college library and the
specialized materials needed by students for their lower-division level research.
2) IMPORTANT/EDUCATIONAL
Less closely related to existing instruction, but facilitates and enriches course work, or
includes general educational resources in subject not covered by specific classroom
instruction.
3) USEFUL
Not basic or central instruction. May fulfill individual needs but is likely to be
highly specialized.
4) MARGINAL
Not necessary or appropriate.
VII. Criteria for Acquisitions
The following criteria should be considered when acquiring materials.
General criteria for library acquisitions:
1) High quality in scholarship, authoritative, content format, literary merit.
2) Permanent value.
3) Currency and timeliness of the information.
4) Appropriateness for community college use.
5) Balance of current holdings—representative materials on all sides of an issue.
6) Value as a classic or outstanding work in a field.
Additional criteria for books:
1) Reviews in relevant sources, such as academic or trade journals of the field, or library
review aids such as Library Journal or Booklist.
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2) Fiction should be selected with an emphasis on its use in the formal study of literature
or its impact on social and political thought, philosophical ideas, and wider values or
contemporary relevancy.
3) Hardcover editions should be preferred over paperbacks.
4) Textbooks adopted for classroom use should not be purchased unless they are classics
in the field. This does not exclude other monographs selected by instructors for
classroom assignments.
5) In general, the library does not acquire multiple copies of the same materials. Multiple
copies of faculty requests or donations of popular titles may be added.
Additional criteria for serials:
In addition to the general criteria for library acquisitions, the following specific requirements
should be considered for serials purchase:
1) Academic journals are preferred over popular or general magazine titles.
2) Journals which do not support a specific element of the curriculum may be purchased if
they contribute to the general liberal education of students by presenting an informed
discussion of public affairs, economic, social, or political events, scientific or technical
knowledge, literature, criticism, or the arts.
Additional criteria for electronic resources:
The library is responsible for maintaining online database subscriptions, whether or not grants
and state categorical funding support them. Librarians will evaluate each database, review its
statistical usage, and determine the continuation of its subscription at a time of renewal. A
database that has not been frequently used may be discontinued. The library participates in the
Community College Library Consortium for purchasing database subscriptions when possible.
Selection criteria for databases include:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Curriculum and Research Relevant
Content/Format
Search Interface
User Support
Availability/Accessibility of Service
Cost
VIII. Donation Policy
Donations are added only when they strengthen the collection and impose no significant
limitations on housing, handling, or disposition of duplicate or damaged items. Guidelines for
evaluation of donations are the same as those for selecting purchased materials. Donated items
accepted but not added to the collection will be added to the Friends of the Library annual book
sale. The library will not issue appraisals of donated items for tax or any other purpose.
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IX. Maintenance of the Collection
Weeding
Weeding is the withdrawing of damaged or obsolete materials from the library’s collection, a
process which is an integral part of collection development and maintenance. In general, the
same criteria apply to weeding as apply to the selection of new materials. Additional criteria
include: currency; appearance; condition; duplication; superseded editions; usage.
Lost Items and Replacements
Resources that are missing, lost, or withdrawn due to deterioration are not automatically replaced.
Materials may be replaced based on the following criteria:
1) Importance of the item to the collection.
2) Demand for the material.
3) Availability.
X. Resource Sharing
The library’s membership in OCLC provides shared resources through interlibrary loan (ILL) for
current students, faculty and staff. ILL is intended for academic research and is limited to items
that are not part of the VVC library collection. The library is a member of the Inland Empire
Academic Libraries Cooperative (IEALC,) which provides current students with borrowing
privileges at 18 college and university libraries in the local region, including California State
University at San Bernardino.
XI. Academic Freedom
The library upholds the American Library Association’s guiding principles related to patrons’
rights, including the “Library Bill of Rights,” “Freedom to Read Statement,” and “Intellectual
Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries” policies.
The collection is available to all potential patrons of the library, and should offer diverse
viewpoints, regardless of the popularity of those perspectives, or of the sex, religion, political
philosophy, or national origin of their authors.
No censorship will be exercised on the basis of frankness of language or the controversial
manner an author may use in dealing with religious, political, sexual, social, economic, scientific,
or moral issues.
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XII. ALA REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION OF LIBRARY RESOURCES
The Dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences is responsible for the daily operation of the
library. The dean has delegated the responsibility for selection and evaluation of library
resources to the librarians. If you wish to request reconsideration of library resources, please
return the completed form to the Dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Name __________________________________ Date_________________________
Address______________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip_________________________________________________________
Phone _______________________________________________________________
Do you represent self? ____ Organization? ____
1. Resource on which you are commenting:
Title ______________________________________________________________
Author/Producer _____________________________________________________
____Book ____Textbook ____Video ____Display ____Magazine ____Library Program
____Audio Recording ____Newspaper ____Electronic information (please specify) ____Other
2. What brought this resource to your attention?
3. Have you examined the entire resource?
4. What concerns you about the resource? (use other side or additional pages if necessary)
5. Are there resource(s) you suggest to provide additional information and/or other viewpoints
on this topic?
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